Now officially having started their Kickstarter campaign, the developers for Project:Gorgon are really starting to cause a buzz! They are looking to raise $100,000 (USD) in a month to help fund further development. This is not “just another startup” game. Project:Gorgon already has four years of work put into it, and it shows. Combat is really fleshed out, and that is important to a lot of gamers looking to fill their time. They did a lot of tweaking with their basic game mechanics, artwork and the low-level tech necessary for smooth game play. Hoping to raise enough to work full time on the project, lead developer Eric Heimburg will also have two part-time artists to bring more life into his creation.  He goes into great detail about his team, their experience, and the plans for Project:Gorgon should this campaign succeed.

Play Project:Gorgon’s Alpha

Heimburg explains how he feels about about “vaporware” and other game developers who jump into Kickstarter campaigns, and fail to produce a return for investors. He actually demands that no one contribute without first experiencing the game asking for funds. Sticking to his word, Alpha Access is open to all! No keys, no special time periods. Simply download the installer from this page for your Windows or Mac rig. A Linux version will also be produced in time. Utilizing the Unity engine, the game is pretty well packaged – download and patching taking all of about 10 minutes in total with a broad-band service to Hawaii! That right there is impressive to this gamer!

All you need to do is register a new account, create a character (which is very simplistic, but awesome anyway) and jump right into the… uh… wait! No class selection? No skill choices?!

Eric writes on the Kickstarter page how this game is “… an unusual, original feel, freely mixing ideas from older and newer MMOs with a whole bunch of ideas never before seen…” which to me says, “You’ve never done this before.” Well, I’ve been playing RPGs well over 30 years, and MMOs for just about 20 years – that’s a really tall order! However, after playing the earlier web-browser version of the alpha, I was so intrigued that I did do the download myself. Below are some video’s from a recent session of Kirthag’s Late Night, a weekly exposition of the many games I play.

Oh look! I die!

Being a noob with no skills is a major cause of death in any game. Most of the time, players get frustrated and leave the game in a huff. That isn’t so much the case with Project:Gorgon. The story line and lead in to the opening dungeon is enough to keep a player interested and not give up. There are several puzzles and hints along the way as well – just enough to keep players moving ahead without feeling like they are being totally guided. Now this might be an issue for newer gamers who are used to having their hands held in a new game, but not so much a problem that they leave. For a game being in Alpha stage – this is very promising. With multiple puzzles (freshen up on your math skills!) and mechanics that allow for free-formed skill development, this is one of the few games I’ve experienced that allows players how they want to play.

Of course, you can be like me and just go find more baddies to die to. 🙂

Watch live video from Stratics on Twitch

Overall, Project:Gorgon is looking to be a worthwhile game with interesting mechanics and twists to keep even the most bored entertained for a while. The game is still in alpha state, meaning not everything is working totally right and some graphics might not quite look one hundred percent. However this is a game that shows great promise. If you agree (after playing for a bit), jump on over to the game’s Kickstarter page and show Eric and his team just how much you like! You can also discuss this game on their forums which are conveniently hosted by us – that’s how much we like the game.